"Once you have mastered time, you will understand how true it is that most people overestimate what they can accomplish in a year - and underestimate what they can achieve in a decade." — Tony Robbins
I'm so busy!
I wish I could ____
...but I just don't have enough time.
When it comes to accomplishing a goal, any kind of goal, one of the biggest obstacles for most people is lack of time.
No time to exercise.
No time to cook.
No time to study.
No time to practice.
There's never enough time!
Yet, somehow there are people who:
👉 Work full time AND
👉 Have a family AND
👉 Exercise regularly AND
👉 Prepare their own meals AND
👉 Grow personally and professionally
So...what's their secret? 🤔
Are they androids?
Or hyped up on Adderall?
While both are possible explanations (one more probable than another...androids obviously...), what is often true is that,
The people who are the most successful at getting stuff done are also the ones who are the most realistic about what can get done.
The reason you're not finishing your to-do list isn't because you are lazy, unmotivated or stupid. 🙅🏼♀️
You're not finishing your to do list because:
❌ Your to do list doesn't reflect your priorities
❌ Your list is too long and
❌ You're not linking your list to your calendar
If your to-do list looks like this CVS receipt...I'm talking to you. 🙄
Before you can be more efficient with your time and "get s*@! done", you need to:
👉 Clarify what you want to accomplish
👉 Assess how much time you have available
👉 Get real about how you are spending your time
👉 Block time on your calendar AND
👉 Keep your time boundaries
1) Clarifying what you want to accomplish - The "What"
and the "Why"
When it comes to productivity, the focus is generally on how to do more stuff (the "What") in less time. And while the "What" is important, equally as important is the "Why".
👉 What are your goals and why are they important to you?
I'm not only talking about what you want to get done TODAY. I'm talking about what you want to accomplish in the next 1-3 years. Your BIG goals. Do you want to lose 50lbs? Run an ultramarathon? Start your own business? Write a book? Ask yourself: Why are these goals meaningful to me? What benefit will they bring into my life? How do they connect to my core values? When you are crystal clear on the above, removing trivial tasks from your day (to make time for the important stuff) becomes much easier.
2) Assessing how much time you have available
Most of us have some responsibility outside of our ourselves.
A job.
A spouse.
A child.
A pet.
And these things take up time.
So, unless you are an android (or maybe the daughter of an oil tycoon), after fulfilling your responsibilities to others you may only be left with a few hours of "free time" for yourself each day.
Which means that you need to be realistic about how much extra "stuff" you can fit into one day.
Take a look at a normal week. How much time is spent on the "fixed" variables? These may be things like: ✅ Commuting ✅ Working ✅ Sleeping ✅ Taking your kid to soccer practice ✅ Walking the dog When you add up all of the "fixed" variables, how much "free" time are you left with? And then, be honest with yourself. How are you using that time now? Is it with activities that reflect your core values? And/Or ones that will build towards your BIG goals? Is there an opportunity to remove some time "wasters"?
3) Getting real about how you are spending your time
If your to do list is constantly "rolling-over" like unused cellular minutes, chances are you are either spending too much time on unimportant things OR trying to do too much in one day.
I like to use the Eisenhower Method and the Rule of 3 for planning out and prioritizing my daily tasks.
The Eisenhower Method (which I've written about before) provides a framework for clarifying how important and how urgent a task is, so that you can delegate (or remove) unimportant and non-urgent tasks, freeing up more time for the important and urgent stuff. The Eisenhower Method focuses on what to do on a given day based on your bigger "Why" while the Rule of 3 focuses on how much you can and should plan on doing. The Rule of 3 is based on the acceptance that you can't accomplish an endless number of things each day, but that you can complete a 3-item to do list. The 3-item to do list is as simple and profound as it sounds. Every evening, before powering down for the night, I take time to identify the three most important items to accomplish the following day. The Rule of 3 keeps me focused on the most important tasks as well as keeps me from feeling overwhelmed.
4) Blocking time on your calendar
Take your BIG goals and break them down into smaller, monthly targets.
Determine how much progress you can reasonably make towards your BIG goals in a month, based on the time you have available (see #2 above).
If you want to lose 50lbs ➡ Maybe you can lose 5lbs in 4 weeks? Once you have your target, identify the action(s) you need to take in order to get there and then block time for those actions on your calendar.
While your to do list tells you what you need to do, time blocking tells you when you’re going to do it.
It's such a simple concept, but one that I see MANY clients struggle with. Client: "This week I'm going to workout 5 times, sleep 9 hours every night, try 20 new recipes from Pinterest and meditate for an hour every morning." Me:
A plan isn't complete OR realistic if you can't identify when you will put it into action.
👉 When will you exercise?
👉 When will you grocery shop?
👉 When will you food prep?
👉 When will you go to bed?
Block that time in your calendar right now.
I mean it...NOW!
5) Keeping your time boundaries
Warren Buffett once said, "The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything." When distractions or other people's priorities make it challenging to stay on task and follow your blocked out calendar, remember that no is a complete sentence.
If you cannot manage your own time, you WILL NOT achieve your goals.
Sorry, not sorry. 🤷🏼♀️
It's simply the truth.
If you want to achieve your goals, weight loss or otherwise, you need to have a plan.
A good plan will include the what, how and why.
A great plan will also include the WHEN.
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